By Franklin Asare-Donkoh
A Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and Project Director of The Democracy Project, Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, has added his voice to the growing calls on President John Dramani Mahama to repeal Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462, which regulates aspects of Ghana’s mining and forestry sectors.
Dr. Osae-Kwapong, speaking on JoyNews’ current affairs programme Newsfile on Saturday, 21 June 2025, during a panel discussion, challenged President Mahama to be a man of his word by honouring his 2024 campaign promise to repeal LI 2462.
According to him, repealing LI 2462 would help strengthen the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The CDD-Ghana Fellow reminded President Mahama of his publicly stated opposition to the LI during the 2024 election campaign.
Dr. Osae-Kwapong maintained that now that the President is in office, he must act decisively to demonstrate his commitment to reforming Ghana’s mining regulatory framework.
“He said during the campaign that he was not in favour of LI 2462 and would repeal it. Now he is President, and we are waiting to see whether he will follow through on that promise,” he reiterated.
Dr. Osae-Kwapong explained that the instrument has been widely criticised for its perceived ineffectiveness and the burden it places on small-scale miners. He emphasised that repealing LI 2462 would be a step toward creating a more transparent and accountable system for managing small-scale mining in Ghana.
He urged the government to prioritise sustainable reforms in the sector, stating, “The President has an opportunity to show leadership on this issue. The time to act is now.”
